Nile Gardiner is a Washington-based foreign affairs analyst and political commentator. A former aide to Margaret Thatcher, Gardiner has served as a foreign policy adviser to two US presidential campaigns. He appears frequently on American and British television, including Fox News Channel, BBC, and Fox Business Network.

Ed Miliband looked lightweight and out of his depth during Syria debate

Ed Miliband faces the PM at an earlier debate: House of Commons heavyweight?

The prime minister, as Damian Thompson noted earlier, put in an assured, confident performance during today’s Syria debate. David Cameron looked like he was in charge, and showed a good mastery of the issues at hand. In contrast, Ed Miliband stumbled frequently as he delivered his statement in the Commons, seemed to lack confidence, and was frankly out of his depth. Miliband meandered, at times aimlessly, waffling about the “legitimacy” of the United Nations, a world body that has demonstrated a staggering lack of credibility in recent years, and which has been dominated by repressive regimes led by Russia and China. He was emphatically called out by Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi, who asked Miliband why he failed to talk about the British national interest. Miliband simply refused to answer the question, as though it was beneath him. In short Labour’s position on Syria, like the party’s leader, is confused and incoherent.

Miliband’s embarrassing performance today does not bode well for Britain if he becomes prime minister. He simply doesn’t come across as someone who projects clear leadership or commands the attention of his audience. His knowledge of the subject matter at hand appeared wafer-thin. If this is what he is like in opposition, one can only imagine how he will be in Downing Street. He also demonstrated today an unhealthy obsession with the UN, which is matched only by his worship of the EU, giving far too much credence to international organisations. Miliband is at heart a supranationalist, who demonstrates an extraordinary degree of deference to foreign governments and unelected bureaucrats. At the end of the day, whatever action Britain takes over Syria, or any foreign policy matter, should be decided by the British themselves.